Author
Topic: The Ultimate LinuxMCE Box (Read 1992 times)

Hello Everyone, I have been reading about LinuxMCE for some time, and now I want to build a box that will take full advantage of LinuxMCE.

I want to stream content to different computers at each tv.I want to run my phone line into the box.I want to use it all of the home automation features including A/V equipment intergration.I want use it as a DVR I have comcast Digital cable.Lighting controls security camera feeds, everything.I am planning on putting this box in my office and stream everthing to the rest of the house.

So my question to the LinuxMCE community is what will be the best hardware for the main LMCE box? Buy best I mean most compatible:

Motherboard/ Chipset:

CPU:

Tv capture card:

Video Card: Nvidia based

Sound Card:

IR devices: USB UIRT

Remote Controls: Rii mini keyboard

Any additional add ons that you have found helpful or necessary would also be appreciated.

I didn't expect there to be one machine that is perfect for LMCE. What I do want to hear about is what hardware is working for people and what isn't. When people are writing code do they have better success with Intel, AMD, or Nvidia? I would imagine by now there is hardware people avoid and harware they like thats what I want to find out why they chose what they have.

My advice is to not go nuts on the hardware and buy the latest and greatest - it'll be a waste of money. A modest system will be more than enough for an LMCE core/hybrid. My core is built using the cheapest dual-core AMD CPU I could find (AM3), and has a mere 2 gigs of RAM. This is plenty. I might add some RAM if I get any spare, but I'm certainly not going to rush out and buy it.

Motherboards are generally OK, but there are one or two that might give you problems, depends what you are using it for. If you want to be certain, check out the user setups or the mainboard category on the wiki.

There is a very good TV capture card page on the wiki also.

I never bother with sound cards, onboard is always good enough for me.

IR devices? Surely you would already have these... unless you're talking about controlling them, in which case search wiki for USB-UIRT and think about getting some extenders for it for added reliability.

Remote controls - loads of options here. Personally I prefer a combination of mini keyboard/mouse (check out the Rii mini keyboard, it's wicked) for use with onscreen orbiters, and also mobile orbiters in the form of a 7" Internet tablet. There are many IR remotes and gyro mice and various other things that will work also.

Final tip; not sure what your Linux experience is, but my advice would be to take it slowly. Just get the hardware for a basic core/hybrid, maybe a TV card as well, get that running, and have a play. Then maybe get a single MD, see how it all knits together, and add the really cool stuff later.

I have looked at the user's setups and they don't really say if something works well or not.

Generally speaking, I would have thought that if there were any problems, they would be mentioned. If it doesn't say anything, then it will probably be alright. We're talking about installing an OS based on Kubuntu 08.10 on new hardware; at the end of the day you might have to fart around with it a little bit to get it working (see what I had to do with the onboard NIC on my motherboard). But if people are using the mobo in question, then it must be doable!